Local News

Demolition Permit Issued For Whitehead’s Home

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) _ A Connecticut house built by an aviator credited by the legislature for being the first to fly could fall under the wrecking ball.

Tom Conley, Fairfield’s chief building official, told Hearst Connecticut Media that a Stratford developer was issued a demolition permit for the bungalow-style house built by Gustave Whitehead.

The German-born aviator was credited last year in state legislation for the first successful flight. Whitehead’s supporters say he flew two years before the Wright brothers lifted off from Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903.

Aviation experts in North Carolina, Ohio and elsewhere insist the Wright brothers are properly credited for the first-in-flight designation.

Efforts may save Whitehead’s house. Andy Kosch, a principal at the Connecticut Air and Space Center in Stratford, said parts of the house could be salvaged for display.
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Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com